On Sunday, May 4th, 2025, ballistic missiles from Yemen’s Houthis targeted a significant terminal at Israel’s international airport. This attack occurred after the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) failed to intercept the missile.
Israeli police commander Yair Hetzroni reported that one missile created a large crater near the parking lot of Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion Airport, situated close to Tel Aviv.
“The damage at the site measures tens of meters in diameter and depth,” Hetzroni noted.
Security footage captured the moment the missile struck, landing in a wooded section of the airport grounds adjacent to the access road. There have been multiple interception attempts for missiles launched from Yemen, with this one being uniquely successful in penetrating defenses recently.
“At 9:18am (0618 GMT), the IDF detected missiles being launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory. Sirens sounded across various regions in Israel,” the military stated. “We confirmed a hit in the vicinity of Ben Gurion Airport.”
Reports indicate that eight people were taken to the hospital, as Israeli ambulance services responded to the incident.
Houthi Army spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed that Ben Gurion Airport is now “unsafe for air travel” and indicated that international airlines are cautioning against flights to the airport.
After the onset of conflict on October 7, 2023, with Hamas attacks resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and around 250 abductions, the Iran-backed Houthis have targeted naval vessels in the Red Sea as part of their solidarity efforts with Palestinians in Gaza.
The Israeli Airports Authority announced that air traffic had temporarily halted but has since resumed operations. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committed to retaliating, stating, “We’ve taken action in the past, and we will continue to do so.”
“Any attack on us will be met with a response seven times stronger,” added Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz.
